Reebok's 'Nevertheless, She Persisted' Tee Is Exactly the Right Move

If we're being real, watching the news these days is like watching a game of pinball. It's almost too much to keep track of, with one story breaking after another about the disfunction of our current government and the multitude of actors keeping it all in play. Our news cycles have condensed from a couple days to a couple hours, making it much more difficult for a single story to rise above the noise and catch hold. But one story last week did that.

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While engaging in a procedural slowdown of the vote for Jeff Sessions to be confirmed as Attorney General, the Senate Democrats launched a non-filibuster filibuster by holding the floor for debate as long as possible. Elizabeth Warren, Senator from Massachusetts, chose to use her time reading a letter written by Coretta Scott King, the widow of Martin Luther King Jr., that she originally sent to the Senate in 1986 to attempt to block the very same Jeff Sessions from being confirmed as a Federal Judge.

It worked back in 1986. But when Warren read it on Tuesday night in the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell used an obscure Senatorial rule from the early 1900s (originally designed to protect the feelings of a white supremacist) to silence her. McConnell claimed that Warren was "impugning" the motives of Sessions, forcing her out of the debate entirely.

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When McConnell was asked about his move to kick Warren out of the debate, his answer was succinct: "She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted." What McConnell couldn't have known is that he just gave the resistance to Donald Trump a whole new rallying cry.

Almost immediately, social media exploded, using this new phrase as a way to show opposition to the seemingly endless tide of conservative extremism rearing its head in our government. It even inspired the hashtag #ShePersisted, which is still being used every minute, even days later. But free expression on social media is one thing—what Reebok just did is something else.

Reebok, owned by the Adidas Group, just put up for pre-sale a women's athletic t-shirt with a newly political message. The steely gray shirt is rather basic, with a red Reebok logo on the sleeve. But across the chest it says "Nevertheless she persisted." There's plenty of room for Reebok or Adidas to claim that the message isn't political—that it's simply a message perfect for athletics, where inspiration and persistence are always needed. But since this is a pre-ordered basic shirt, we're guessing they're being printed right now and that they were made in reaction to what happened on Tuesday night.

For the record, even though this is a pre-sale, the shirts have sold out in every size.

Reebok

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A lot of ink has been spilled over where apparel and footwear brands are placing their bets three weeks into this new administration. New Balance and Kanye West came under fire in recent months for expressing support for the President. Under Armour's CEO recently called Trump an "asset," which caused a handful of the company's celebrity endorsers to publicly bristle, and Steph Curry to call Donald Trump an "ass" (in not quite so many words). But Reebok is the first of the bunch to put its product on the line in favor of the resistance to the new President. But they're not alone in sentiment.

We've seen that it's good business to be a part of the resistance. The #GrabYourWallet movement has engaged in high-profile debates with Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus over carrying Trump family brands, and can chalk up a dozen retailers that have chosen to drop them, resulting in public statements from Trump (and a staffer who is now potentially under oversight investigation for the move).

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My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person -- always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!

During Fashion Week, we saw attendees wear white bandanas in a show of solidarity, saying that they're #TiedTogether against any forces that would sow division. Raf Simons even included a white bandana in his invitation for his first-ever New York Fashion Week showing.

The resistance to Trump's administration and policies isn't just happening on the streets of D.C., New York, and Kansas City—or on the floor of the Senate. It's happening in the wallets and hearts of Americans all over the country. Some brands have picked sides and caught flack for it. But Reebok's choice is already paying off.

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